I chose this particular topic because lately I keep hearing guys voicing a concern in reference to this and I’d like to address it. This comment usually goes along the lines of, “it makes me afraid to be successful because someone who doesn’t like me just has to accuse me of rape.” I worry the people around me have this view on the matter, because as ridiculous as this concern is, it appears much more common than it should be. The sad truth is that rape victims hardly receive due justice, and people who rape aren't likely to be impacted.
Firstly, women for centuries have been second to men, and undeniably haven’t been taken as seriously. This is everso evident in cases of sexual assault and rape. Women are greatly more likely to be the victim of such crimes and not only that but these crimes are incredibly common. There are many reasons women don’t come forth about their rape or sexual assault. Only recently have the tides begun to change; people are starting to realize rape, and sexual assault are serious problems that aren’t the victims fault. Women who come forth about such abuse are called liars and people grasp for reasons as to why they’re being deceitful. The reality is, there has long been a stigma behind coming out as a victim of such crimes even with evidence in hand to back it up. When a woman is brave enough to begin the discussion the attention of the topic shifts, and moves in a completely inappropriate and often embarrassing direction. This is a huge part of why the #metoo movement has come to fruition. It's not a joke or some lady scam. It’s a way of telling women or any victim of such acts, that its okay to come forth and you aren’t the only one.
Abuse of power is not uncommon and it’s wonderful to see people standing up and calling it out. Calling out someone’s abuse of power/privilege isn't an ugly tactic, but a valid point in many cases. Unsurprisingly, in Trump's America, justice in such a case isn’t seen through. Mr.GrabHerByThePussy is running our country. The article I’m using is by Haley Sweetland Edwards titled,”The Kavanaugh hearing Showed Why the Myth Of Nice Girls and Tough Guys Persists”, it goes into the gender roles people have long been pressured to fulfill and how both Ford and Kavanaugh both perfectly demonstrated these roles. It's very telling because the date of the alleged rape would have been roughly in the early 1980’s. It’s almost 2019 and many dire issues are only now being widely acknowledged, not accepted. The pressure women have long felt to be accommodating; caving into pleasing everyone even if it results in a lifetime of suffering needs to end. Sexual assault victims are not always women but it greatly skews that way, and it’s not a surprising statistic. We need not behave as if it’s more likely that women are deceitful villains, than victims of horrific acts.
People who have this fear of success because someone might falsely accuse them, are either completely uneducated on the subject at hand or have a strong need to make everything about themselves. I implore any person to listen, and really step into the other person's shoes when discussing an issue that doesn’t affect you as much; if you aren’t in demographic that has a daily struggle or has to go about their lives jumping through hoops due to a certain issue, then listen very carefully to those that do especially if you find yourself disagreeing. So, men, when talking about rape, please be a lot more open and thoughtful than you normally would, especially if you tend to not believe the women who come forth.
In Kelsey's blog, she expresses about how people should educate themselves on the #metoo movement. I do agree on the topic, as a woman I do feel that we are still stuck behind men. Even with rape cases, there are still men being led off with no time in jail, and just a slap on the hand. More often the men that are usually white are the ones that face little chances of facing any charges and point the fingers to the victim because he is "supposedly" supposed to be a good person. Yet, people of color without hesitation serve high sentences. People do need to educate themselves with these problems that we are facing in modern times at high rates like its "normal", and it's an amazing thing to have a lot more women speak out and have a voice. Women speak out to make a change, not to just say "me too" because everyone else did. The sexualization of women is what they are trying to change.
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